Evacuees stay put in Central Texas

Hotels in Waco have been housing evacuees since the middle of last week.

At the Home 2 Suites by Hilton, a handful of folks are checking out, but others are staying put.

Mauro Garcia and his family arrived at the hotel on Thursday night. They evacuated Bay City as soon as they found out Harvey was going to reach a Category 2 hurricane.

His whole family is now taking shelter in Waco, steering clear of the destruction caused by Harvey.

"I'm here with my girlfriend and her two little sisters. Then my mom, my dad, my nieces, my sister and two of my cousins are here as well," said Garcia. "And we've got our dogs! We couldn't leave those behind," said Garcia.

What is now Tropical Storm Harvey, first made landfall over the weekend as a Category 4 hurricane. Since then, it's been dumping buckets of rain.

"Hoping for the best when we go back home when they give us the okay to go back," said Garcia. "Our city is supposed to be under 10 feet of water by the end of today," said Garcia. "So we don't exactly know what to expect when we get home."

Garcia has no idea what kind of shape his house is in, but he's staying positive since it's not the walls that make a home; it's the family and the furry friends in it.

"Keep Bay city in your prayers, they're going through a tough time right now, along with Houston," said Garcia. "Just everybody be safe and be wary out there."

Carlena Lesso, director of sales at Home 2 Suites, said evacuees continue to arrive at the hotel daily. The hotel is currently at half of its capacity.

As of Monday, Aug. 28, here are the hotel vacancies according to the city of Waco: